~ Day by day with RA …

“Chemobrain”

In this digital age, I have to confess to having dinosaur-like analog tendencies. I actually wear a watch (with a clock face rather than digital numbers) and, while I like reading books on my Kindle, I love reading the paper every morning.

Last Tuesday, in the paper’s recurring health news section, the headline story was “Chemobrain.” The article discussed the “fog” and diminished cognitive skills

Published in the Dallas Morning News 8/9/11

experienced by chemotherapy patients and how this is finally being recognized as a true condition by physicians.

To quote the article:

Symptoms vary from person to person but may include short-term memory loss, trouble paying attention, trouble finding the right word, difficulty with new learning and difficulty managing daily activities.

When I was first diagnosed with RA I was, like many of us, prescribed Methotrexate. I couldn’t tolerate it because I was a zombie for about 24 hours after I took it, barely able to function. Methotrexate is also used to treat cancer, as are many other RA drugs, or in the same chemical family as chemotherapy treatments.

If you are having these symptoms, I would encourage you to print out this article and share it with your rheumatologist. Maybe we RA patients can reap some of the benefits of this.

Wishing you good health. Thanks for checking in.

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2 thoughts on ““Chemobrain””

Thanks for sharing this information. I took methotrexate and it didn’t work for me nor did it agree with me at all. I fought threw all the side effects but threw in the towel when I got to 20 mg weekly. I have heard and agree with you about the fog. Alot of ra patients complain of this particularly the day after taking their metho.

Although I was initially given a poor prognosis (RF and CCP positive), I am doing very well on MTX monotherapy. Except for three flares in the two years since diagnosis, I am pain free, and I experience no side effects whatsoever. Go figure.